No More Fighting
by dragonprincess1988
Summary: Tim can't continue fighting with Damian. Unfortunately, there's only one way he knows how to stop.


It needs to stop. He knows that it needs to stop, but Tim just can't help it. They just keep fighting, even when it's about nothing-and Tim doesn't want to fight anymore. He doesn't even see the point in it, but he just can't stop. Every time he thinks that he's over it-every time that he thinks that he's dealt-he sees the kid, and then the anger and hurt just flares up again. It's not even Damian's fault anymore-some times; but Tim can't keep himself from the snide comments that he knows that he should be able to simply think and not say. It's like he's lost all control when he's around the kid, which is one of the many reasons that he's been avoiding Damian like the plague. But that isn't always going to be an option. Mainly because it isn't even really an option right now.

The kid has absolutely no boundaries. A closed and locked door is just another challenge to him-not a sign that bothering the person on the other side of the door may be a bad idea. Tim has been making one hell of an effort to train and workout when the kid is out, just so he doesn't run into him; and yet the little pain in the ass always finds some way to interrupt Tim's workouts. It's almost like he's trying to force Tim into another fight...pushing him to another breaking point.

Tim has fine control when it comes to anything else-any_one_ else, but Damian, for some reason, always manages to push his buttons, even when he's not doing anything. He'll just be sitting there with that smug little smirk that he's always wearing, and it'll just get to Tim-to the point where he either has to walk away or punch the kid in the face. It's becoming a strain, and not just for the two of them. Tim can easily see how the fighting is getting to Dick. He wants his two little brothers to get along, but Tim is fairly certain that that's just never going to happen-not unless they can come up with personality transplants for both of them.

The worst part is-and Tim hates to admit it, but it's true-the two of them are just too much alike. At least if it was Jason, whom Tim was being forced to spend vast amounts of time with, Tim could just spend most of his time at the library; but Damian likes reading just as much as Tim does. If it was Steph, Tim could just spend most of his time training while she was off listening to music. But Damian tends to train just as much as Tim does. Hell, if it was Dick that Tim was having problems with, he could just avoid coming back for awhile until Tim was able to bury his anger enough to deal; but it seems that no matter where he goes, Damian is there following him. It's really starting to get on his nerves.

He's just about to get off his bed, and head down to the kitchen to get something to eat, when he hears someone fiddling with his doorknob. Tim sits back down on the bed and waits. There's only one person it can be, given that the others would knock. Tim sits with his legs crossed, waiting for the kid to either give up or finally figure out the new lock system that Tim put on his door the previous day. It's getting to be their routine now. Damian breaks one of the locks, either by managing to by-pass it or just shoving a knife in and breaking the lock, and then Tim goes and replaces it with a better one the next day.

Damian finally manages to break in, after what feels like forever. "What are you doing in here?"

Tim just stares at him impassively. "It is my room, you know? Oh, and remind me that if I ever require someone with lock-picking abilities on a mission to call anyone other than you. It took you twice as long as I estimated it should have."

Damian glares at him. "I could just put a knife through your chest...that wouldn't take me very long at all."

Tim rolls his eyes at Damian's typical response. "Well, you wasted a lot of time to break in here. Is there something that you wanted? Other than my suit, I mean...Oh, wait-you already have that." Tim wants to berate himself for the snide comment, but he's already accepted that he will probably never be able to actually get along with Damian...no matter how happy that would make Dick.

Damian is about to respond, but before he can, he's interrupted by another voice coming from the doorway behind him. "Damian, I've been looking for you. You were supposed to be suited up ten minutes ago!" Dick's voice sounds exasperated, but he has a smile on his face.

Damian looks almost sheepish when he turns to face Dick. "I would have been there, but..."

"But he was picking my lock...poorly, may I add." Tim cuts Damian off before he can make some half-assed excuse that actually sounds legitimate.

Dick gives Tim a very exhausted sigh before he returns his attention to Damian. "Why were you breaking into Tim's room this time?"

"I was just..." Damian glances over to Tim for a moment, while he tries to decide what to say, and after a moment his face contorts into an angry glare. "I don't trust him."

Tim's eyes widen right before he bolts to a standing position beside his bed. "_HE _doesn't trust me? What the hell is that?" 

Dick looks like he doesn't know what to do, so he does the only thing that he knows how to do in a situation like this. "ALFRED!" After a second, Dick calms down enough to think rationally. "I mean, Damian go get changed."

Damian looks like he wants to stick around, and have another fight, but he just glares before storming out of the room. Before Dick even gets a chance to respond Tim is pacing the room while he fumes. "That little...I...I can't do this anymore, Dick. He's such a little...ugh!"

Dick sits down on Tim's bed, and just lets Tim work through his anger. "I know...I know, but you can't really blame him."

Tim whirls on Dick, and Dick finds the motion odd without Tim's cape swirling around him. "I can't blame him? Oh, I really think I can, Dick."

Dick sighs, and leans back on the bed. "Look, Tim, just calm down, and try to see it from his perspective."

Tim throws his hands in the air, and lets out a guttural growl. "I am so sick of seeing it from his perspective." Tim takes a deep breath after that, and tries to clear his head. "Okay, I'm sorry. That was childish, but fuck, Dick, you know what he's like."

Dick nods slightly. "Yes, I'm well aware of what he's like."

Tim sighs, and sits back on the bed next to Dick. "Look, I've been thinking about this for a while now, and well...Gotham has enough protectors, right? It doesn't really need me out there, right now."

Dick turns to face Tim fully. "Yeah, I mean, if you wanted to take the night off. We've got it covered, and well..."

Tim holds up a hand to stop him from continuing. "I'm not just talking about one night here, Dick."

Dick's brow furrows at that, but he thinks that he's following where Tim is going. "O...k, if you wanted to take a few nights off I think we could handle that."

Tim shakes his head. "I...I don't think I can be in Gotham anymore, Dick."

Dick's eyes widen at that. "You intend to leave? But I just got you back, and you're the one who loves Gotham the most. You can't just leave again." 

Tim sighs as he lays down on the bed. "Look, I don't intend to go far. I just think that Gotham's rooftops are a bit crowded now-a-days, you know? Besides, it's not like New York has Nightwing anymore."

Dick blinks a few times as he registers what Tim is saying. "Wait, you intend to go to New York."

Tim shrugs lazily. "Sure, why not?"

Dick shakes his head as if to clear it. "Please tell me that this isn't just because of Damian."

Tim gives him a very small smile. "I'd be lying if I said that he wasn't a major factor, but no, he's not the only reason."

Dick raises an eyebrow at him skeptically for a moment. "And if I wanted your other reasons?"

Tim grins just a little wider. "I'd tell you to hack my secondary personal files."

Dick rolls his eyes at that. "Of course, because you never make anything easy...unless you want it to be."

Tim raises an eyebrow at him. "Is this about Damian hacking my password? I told you I didn't think he'd care. It was a minor miscalculation."

Dick huffs out a breath. "Uh huh, I'm still not completely convinced that you didn't mean for him to find that." 

Tim shrugs. "Not like it matters either way when you think about it."

Dick sighs. "Yeah, I guess; so when are you planning to leave?"

"I was hoping for tonight actually."

Dick stares at him, disbelieving for a moment. "So soon? I'd thought that you might want to stay for a little while...at least find a place first." Tim raises an eyebrow at him for a moment, but doesn't say anything. "Right, you've been thinking about this for a while, you said, so you've already found a place, and knowing you, you were ready to move probably two weeks ago."

"A week and a half actually."

Dick just blinks at him a few times, before gathering Tim into a hug. "Well, at least tell Alfred before you leave this time."

Tim blushes, clearly embarrassed by his previous actions. "Yeah, will do, and hey, there's no reason you can't come visit me, you know...without the kid."

Dick laughs whole-heartedly at that. "Yeah, I might have to."

Tim smirks evilly. "But, Dick, if you don't come visit me how else will you get your pizza fix?"

Dick laughs again as he punches Tim in the arm. "I have my ways, little brother."

Tim raises an eyebrow at him. "I'm sure you do. Unfortunately, for you, most of your ways have to do with me getting it for you."

Dick gives him a mock hurt expression. "I can get my own pizza."

Tim lets out a breathy little laugh. "Yeah, you can, but you won't, because you don't want to deal with Alfred's disapproval."

Dick snorts at him. "You may have a point there, and hey, there's no reason you can't come visit me, you know."

Tim shakes his head. "I can think of one."

Dick laughs as he gets up off the bed. "Oh, come on, he's not that bad."

Tim rolls his eyes. "Kind of is, but don't you have to go get ready to go patrol with the little monster?"

Dick nods. "Yeah, I guess I'll see you...will you be here when I get back?"

Tim shakes his head again. "Probably not. I want to get out of here, before the kid gets a chance to slip something nasty into my stuff."

Dick laughs lightly. "What makes you think that he hasn't already?"

Tim sighs. "Well, it wasn't like I was going to leave without checking it all first. I'm not that stupid."

"Well, good."

Dick turns to leave the room, but before he can Tim grabs his arm, and pulls him into a bone crushing hug. "I'll miss you."

Dick wraps his arms around his little brother and squeezes. "I'll miss you, too, Timmy."

The End


End file.
